Title:
Experts Link East Africa Drought to La Niña in the
Pacific
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
East Africa's drought is the worst in sixty years.
Scientists say the dry conditions in the Horn of
Africa are at least partly the result of an event
half a world away. The event is called La Niña,
which means "little girl" in Spanish. A La Niña
begins when waters become cooler than normal in the
eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator. Changes in
wind currents can then affect weather around the
world. A related event, called an El Niño, happens
when the waters become unusually warm. La Niñas and
El Niños happen about every three to five years. The
latest La Niña began in July of last year and ended
in May. The conditions can last for up to two
years.Wassila Thiaw studies Africa for the Climate
Prediction Center at the National Weather Service in
the United States. With a La Niña, Mr. Thiaw says
the easterly winds that are supposed to bring
moisture into East Africa are reduced. And when that
happens, rainfall is reduced.Starting late last
year, rains that were supposed to fall over Somalia,
southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya failed. That
part of the Horn of Africa has a second rainy season
during March, April and May. Mr. Thiaw says that one
failed, too, but "probably mostly due to the
atmospheric conditions that prevailed at that time."
He says La Niña conditions might begin again by the
end of this year. And if that happens, he says, then
the October-through-December rainy season could
again be dryer than normal. Climate researcher Simon
Mason at Columbia University in New York says East
Africa has been getting drier over about the last
ten years. Mr. Mason says this is at least partly
the result of global warming. Rising temperatures in
the Indian Ocean create conditions that pull
moisture away from East Africa.Claudia Ringler at
the International Food Policy Research Institute
also points to another issue. She said much of the
land in the drought-affected areas is not very
productive even in good times. "It will not get any
better. Even if we have a bit more rainfall, the
general potential for more food production is not
expected to improve dramatically in the region." In
the United States, the latest La Niña pushed
moisture away from the south, causing severe
droughts. Texas has suffered billions of dollars in
agricultural losses. Changes in the winds pushed the
rain toward northern states, causing floods. For VOA
Special English, I'm Carolyn Presutti. You can learn
English and stay informed every day at
voaspecialenglish.com.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
